The week ends on a sour note: all indices reversed course, with weekly gains that were still positive around 4:30 p.m. turning into losses.
Paris' stock market (-0.2%) has been fluctuating around the 8,120-point pivot for nearly seven hours, dropping below 8,080 and settling in the middle of the 8,050/8,150 corridor--which has capped any movement since November 26. The weekly tally is negative at -0.4%.
Overall, the CAC 40 has posted nearly a 10% gain this year, a flattering figure given the political uncertainties that have weighed on the trend in 2025. Still, the Paris index remains less than 3% from its all-time high, which could dissuade investors from closing their books too early.
Global equities had cheered the latest Federal Reserve announcements, as the Fed refrained from adopting an overly hawkish tone despite the current strength of the U.S. economy and the substantial divisions that persist within its monetary policy committee.
On Wall Street, a rare reversal unfolded: the Dow Jones (-0.5%) and the Russell-2000, which had both notched a third consecutive all-time high (after two "intraday/close" doubles the previous day), slipped into negative territory.
December 12 will remain the day the Dow Jones came closest to 50,000, even if it failed to close in positive territory, setting a new zenith at 48,886.
The Dow Jones has gained 14.5% since January 1, while the S&P and Nasdaq marked increases of 17% and 22% respectively as of Thursday evening, suggesting that the bulk of the rally may be behind us.
However, the post-FOMC period has not been all euphoria, with the S&P 500 now down 1.2% and the Nasdaq off 2%. Both indices continue to suffer from disappointment over Oracle's weaker-than-expected quarterly results (-11% the previous day, -5.8% this evening), which have reignited fears that massive AI overinvestment could weigh on the balance sheets of America's tech giants.
This Friday, the trend is further dragged down by Broadcom (-11.2%), Micron (-8.7%), Marvell (-5%), and Nvidia (-2%).
Many commentators are pleased that the "heavy uncertainty linked to the Fed" has now been lifted, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell has not reassured everyone, as U.S. T-Bonds continue to deteriorate (a trend since November 26), with the 10-year yield rising +4 basis points to 4.1840%, and the 30-year soaring +6.5 points to 4.856%.
The contagion has spread to Europe, with the Bund up +1.2 points at 2.8560%, French OATs up +2 points at 3.579%, and Italian BTPs adding +1.6 points at 3.551%.
This tension could persist into next week, pending eagerly awaited U.S. inflation and employment data.
Next week will be the last full trading week for markets (with the "quadruple witching" session as a highlight) before Christmas and New Year, which could also mean lighter trading volumes.
Among today's indicators, final consumer price data for France stood out. Consumer prices in France rose 0.9% year-on-year in November 2025, the same rate as in October, according to INSEE, confirming its preliminary estimate for last month.
The euro slipped against the dollar (-0.05% to 1.1735) after a 1.1% gain over 48 hours.
Despite the dollar's weakness, oil continues to fall, with Brent crude down -1.1% to around $60.85, and WTI off -1.2% to about $57.15, flirting with its annual low.
Notably during the session, silver set a new all-time high at $64.5 an ounce, while gold returned to $4,350... before dropping back to $61.7 and $4,270, respectively.
